With each passing week and every try conceded it does feel like relegation is becoming more of a certainty than a possibility and whilst it is true relegation would be a terrible thing for every aspect of the club in the short term I genuinely believe we will come out of this stronger on the other side.

My reasons for believing this stem from my other sporting love Blackburn Rovers (I know I will lose a few people here). Blackburn were in the same postion two years ago that the Bulls are now:

Facing relegation
Legitimate question marks over the coaches credentials
Accusations that the players don't care or are at the very least bereft of all confidence
Dwindling crowds
Gross mismanagement at every level of the club

As most of you will probably know Blackburn didn't avoid the drop and it would be fair to say that our first season in the second tier was disastrous. As the next season approached it was clear that there was a change in the approach from the club, expensive journeyman were discarded in favour of young (predominantly) British players. As a result of this there seemed to be a hunger on the pitch which had been missing previously and despite not gaining promotion the season which has just finished was the most enjoyable for many years.

If the Bulls do get relegated the squad will be ripped apart but in reality is there anyone you will miss watching? If we can keep some of the youngsters who obviously care about the club (Wood, Mellor, O'Brien & Conroy spring to mind) I believe we can get back to a team that we are proud to watch whether they win, lose or draw.

Maybe this is just my way of trying to find a silver lining but I am cautiously optimistic about what the future has in store for us.

Which it looks as if Green/Ferres are doing by looking to improve the youth setup with a performance manager. In the new (ie old) promotion and relegation era it is sugar daddy teams that will usually rule, but a good youth system will be a big help.

Obviously though, with the reduced salary cap, their players will be SL quality but on championship salaries if London are to be believed.

Why do more clubs not do that? It would solve a lot of problems.

Yeah, I agree and to be honest I think Paul Medley will be a hard act to follow in the junior set-up. It would be interesting to read the views of people who have had a more direct relationship with it, maybe with their youngsters in the academy.

Which juniors, developed by the Medley regime, have progressed to full SL players? I saw some great junior teams at Cas but you are lucky if more than 1 or 2 each year actually make it. That shows the scale of investment needed to continually feed the first team. Leeds & Wigan seem to have a bigger pool of talent to choose from than most, hence the number of top local lads in their teams.

Agreed local lads like Seinfeld, Watkins and Mccillorum just want to play for their hometown teams